It All Began in New York City
by cgaussie
Summary: (GorillaZ) My own take on how Russel ended up posessed by Del. Rated for one particular scene involving blood.


It all Began in New York City  
By: Cartman's Girl  
  
Notes: Oh my God, a GorillaZ fanfic! Not my first, but the first one was lost when the site it was on died. Oh well. Here, I go into how I think Del and Russel met. I like it, and I might draw pics to accompany it. So here we go!  
  
~*~  
  
New York City.  
  
Possibly the most renowned city in the world. Say its name and images flash through people's minds. Time Square, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn, and the Empire State Building just to name a few icons. It was in this noisy city full of noisy people where one Russel James Todds was born.  
  
He was pushed into the world red faced on an early winter's morning, and was the 'Big Apple' in his father's eye from day one. The neighbourhood they lived in wasn't exactly the best place in the world to raise a son, but they managed.  
  
The children that grew up on the street grew strong bonds together, as did Russel. Upon his first day of venturing out of his house, he met his next door neighbour. A boy, black African like him, but only a few years older. His name was Del, or at least that's what everyone called him.  
  
Russel had been pushing himself along on his trike as his Mother was pinning up the washing in their small backyard. The fence was broken and some planks hanging off. From one of these gaps, the young Del stuck his head.   
  
"Heya Mrs. T!" he called out. He was greeted with a smile,  
  
"Del! Come on over and see Russel. You remember him, yes?" she asked. Del had first seen Russel when he was brought back to the neighbourhood. Seemed whenever a baby was brought home from the hospital they'd throw a welcoming party. All Del had done was stare at Russel back then, and declare he had stinky pants.  
  
But now two years on Del was still here, and he squeezed through the fence and walked on over the dying grass. His sneakers were one size too big, as was his yellow hat he wore. It seemed a bit too big for him, but he managed. He stood over Russel, and the two stared at each other for a while.  
  
"Least his pants don't stink no more." He commented. Mrs. Todds smiled,   
  
"Why don't you boys go play together while I go get the rest of the washing out?" she asked. Del raised an eyebrow, for he was sceptical about going down the street with a little kid. His friends who shared his age might find it iffy. "Do you want to do that, Russel?" she asked the toddler.  
  
"Yeh!" chirped the chubby child. Del rolled his eyes slightly, but turned to Mrs. Todds.  
  
"Don't worry Mrs. T, I'll look out fer Russ." With that he pushed the seat of the trike and pushed Russel down the side of the house to the front yard and onto the street. From there he simply walked, Russel peddling his tubby legs to keep up with Del.  
  
"So you see Russ, we live in a very spectacular city. You say its name, and people know it instantly! It's like BAM. New York! It's a heck of a town." Russel took in every word as he stared at the trashcans, the cats on the trees and the buildings.  
  
"Heck uva toon?" Russel echoed.  
  
"That's what I said Russ." Del nodded, "I'm gonna teach you all I knows. So open up them ears and listen."  
  
From then on, Del and Russel would go for their daily walk down the street and back. Del telling Russel about school, those icky things called girls, which neighbour to avoid and even about music.  
  
One point the two were older, Russel now seven and Del being eleven, decided to head to the park. Russel climbed onto the swing and Del gave him a shove before getting on his own swing.   
  
"Hey Del?" Russel asked,  
  
"Yeh Russ?" Del replied,  
  
"You thinks we're gonna be friends f'ever, or until somethin' like moving happens?" Russel asked as he tried pushing himself on the swing.  
  
"Ah dunno Russ." Del replied as he went higher with each swing, "Maybe we will. But you know, even if ya end up all the way on the other side of the world we'll still be bros, right?"  
  
"Word!" Russel laughed.  
  
"Well well well." Came a voice out of seemingly nowhere. Out from behind the slide stepped a tall twelve year old. "Look who we have here, the local gay gang themselves!"   
  
"Shove off Gary." Del growled. Del knew Gary from school, and the bully felt there was nothing better in the world then beating up kids younger and weaker then him.  
  
"Oh I don't think so, so how's your little boyfriend Del?" Gary grinned, showing his teeth. One tooth was missing. Either it fell out recently or was punched out, no one could tell.  
  
"Shut up!" Del hopped off the swing, Russel now having stopped swinging and sat there.  
  
"Careful there tubby buns or you'll brake the swing!" Gary laughed. Russel's eyes lowered and he stared at his shoes. One thing Russel was sensitive about back then, was his weight.  
  
"You're cruising for a bruising ya mole!" Del declared.  
  
"Yeah, and which one of you girls' gonna do it?" Gary asked. He then blinked in surprise. Russel had gotten off the swing and given him a kick to the legs; cause that's all what he could reach. He stared down at Russel for a while, then put his hand to Russel's head and shoved him backwards; hard.  
  
Russel hit the pavement, and at that instant Del lashed out and punched Gary clear in the face. All what could be described that followed was a usual kiddie brawl. Kicking, punching, biting, so on and so forth. Russel just sat on the pavement holding his head and crying. He'd hit the pavement a bit too hard it seems.  
  
Soon enough Gary had enough and just shoved Del off of him and ran off, spewing insults as he went about getting him one day. Del didn't give a toss about him, he turned back to Russel.  
  
"Aie, Russ!" Del looked at the back of Russel's head. It was bruised, but he didn't know if his head had been cracked. "C'mon man, we gotta get you home!" and home they went. Del lead Russel back by the hand, and from there he was sent to hospital.  
  
Turned out Russel only gotten a mild concussion, so he had to be watched closely. From there on, his parents were cautious about letting him go out with Del. If Del had enemies who beat up on children, that meant Russel could be in more danger. So their time together grew slimmer, what with school and homework.  
  
But the two kept in touch. One way was Russel's idea. Since they didn't have enough money to buy walkie talkies he found two empty cans his Mum had cleaned out and made the usual tin can phone. It was lucky the two lived in two story apartments, being such narrow houses.  
  
At night the two would talk about what happened in school, to them and to other people. So their friendship remained steadfast, even when Del went onto high school. But things got rougher for Del.  
  
He'd gotten into the rapping industry and was making quite a name for himself in the schools and local hang outs. Even at clubs and pubs! He was quite happy with himself. And while Del immersed himself in popularity Russel found the time they used to talk was taken up by other means.  
  
Like women. Del had begun a keen interest in them. And what with school (which he avoided a lot), rapping and women Del had less and less time for Russel. So, Russel got into playing the drums in school. He found he had a keen talent for it, and happily bashed away at the drums after school. Even ended up in the school band too.  
  
One night Russel was just drifting off to sleep when the phone rang. He opened his eye lazily, and picked up the receiver.  
  
"Yo?" he mumbled half consciously.  
  
"Yo Russ, it be Del! Check it out man, I got ya into a club! Meet me 'round the bend in a minute!" with that the other side went dead. Russel sat up and rubbed his eyes. Grabbing his hoodie he pulled it on and headed out the door. He saw Del and walked up to him.  
  
"Hey man. Long time no see." Russ smirked. Del waved a hand dismissively.  
  
"Yeah yeah I know. Now c'mon. My gig starts in 'n hour!" with that Del got into his car (more like a trashcan on wheels) and Russel joined him. He drove down south to a small club with a line waiting outside. It was small, but there was a lot of energy in the air.  
  
Russel found himself drinking some drinks, smoking and chatting up some ladies. But they eventually wondered off, finding other guys. Thinner for one. Russel scoffed after them, and finally Del's time to shine hit.  
  
He was pretty damn good, impressed the ladies, the guys and the judges that were in the audience. Afterwards, after they'd partied half the night away Russel yelled to Del he better get home before his folks have a heart attack.  
  
"Aw yer no fun." Del said, but agreed to take Russel home. The two stepped out of the club, Del stretching. "Well, that was some fun ay Russ?" he asked.  
  
"Totally." Russ smirked back. The two headed for the car, until the sound of revving wheels filled the air. They were close, and coming closer. Russel only had time to see Del's eyes widen and he grabbed Russel to shove him backwards.  
  
There were sounds of gunshots and the last thing Russel saw was Del bleeding a lot. That's when Russel's head slammed into the brick wall and everything went black for Russel, and would stay black for a long time.  
  
The police and ambulance soon arrived. They found the two boys, one was clearly dead through multiple bullet wounds to the chest and the other was unconscious. They hefted Russel into the ambulance, and Del into the black bag after drawing the white line around where his body lay.  
  
The Todds soon arrived in hospital to hear the news; their son was in a coma and they didn't know how long he'd stay in it. Russel lay motionless in the hospital, machines rigged up to him and a machine doing the breathing for him. It was a horrendous sight for any parent to see.   
  
Russel wasn't present at Del's funeral, but if he had known and been conscious he would have gone to pay his last respects to his friend. But Russel lay in that hospital bed for a year before being moved home. All the machines went with him, and he lay in his bed hour after hour.  
  
Three years had passed. It was midnight, and Russel's right eyelid twitched. In his mind, he saw flashes of images. Del pushing him, a hand pulling a gun out of the car that speeded away, and Del collapsing. Russel's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly.  
  
"DEL!"  
  
Waking up suddenly from a coma sure can make the newspaper reel. He was in every news paper for a month. Young man awakens from three year coma. Comes to terms with his missing years. Learns friend since childhood was killed. Then there was the business with his eyes going pure white. No colour whatsoever, just pure white. Doctor's couldn't explain it, so that raked up more popularity.  
  
It got really annoying, and one day Russel made his way to the cemetery. Alone.  
  
It was snowing that day, so Russel rugged up. He made his way through the cemetery, which was more quiet then usual. Finally he made it to the gravestone that read Del's full name, date of birth, date of death. Russel stood there for a good long time staring at the gravestone, then sighed.  
  
"…thanks man." He said, "I mean… if you hadn't shoved me away I mighta copped a few too." He reached out and set his big hand on the stone. "Just wished you were still around, that's all."  
  
"Aw, how _sweet_." Came a voice. It triggered a memory from long ago, and Russel knew who it was.  
  
"Gary." He snarled, then turned. There was Gary, with his arms folded and the smug look on his face.  
  
"So you finally woke up. And look! First place you come is to see your lover; how cute." He  laughed evilly. Russel was holding back all his might to  stop him from crushing the bastard.  
  
"You…" he snarled.  
  
"What, me?" Gary looked innocently pathetic, and then laughed again. "It's funny how the police do squat when a black kid gets shot Y'know? No one even _asked around to see who woulda hated Del's guts. Who had enough balls to shoot him in the head 'n chest?"  
  
Russel was seeing red. The red was the splattered blood of his best friend over the asphalt again. The whole scenario played through his mind again but this time he saw clearly. He saw who's had had held the gun out and pointed it straight at Del.  
  
"MURDERER!" Russel screamed, his loud voice echoing throughout the cemetery. Gary hadn't even time to react, Russel charged and tackled him to the ground. He punched Gary in the face and gut multiple times, then grabbed his head and slammed it into the tree.  
  
Gary didn't move. But Russel knew he was still alive, he could still see the mist rising from his bruised face. No, Russel wouldn't kill Gary. He didn't want to drop to his level. Gary was unconscious, and would stay unconscious for the rest of his life.  
  
Russel turned and began walking home, he'd phone the police and say he saw a beat up guy in the cemetery; that'll cause them to do a search on who he is. Hopefully they'll find evidence of Del's murder. Hopefully. As he was making his way home the snow stopped blowing and the wind seemed to die. Then, a cap fell from above.  
  
It landed at Russel's feet in the snow. He stared at it for a while, before leaning down and scooping it up. It was yellow, and it looked well worn. Also it looked familiar. He smiled slightly; he somehow knew Del had sent him his hat. Placing it somewhat proudly on his head, Russel continued his way home.  
  
The police were notified, and did find Gary. After finding only a wallet with an address written on they searched his room looking for any clues as to who he was. Seeing how he had no family. They did find, however, a gun, and matched the bullets to the ones on record from Del's murder.  
  
Russel's family decided New York wasn't the best place to live anymore, Gary's friends might find out who did their friend in and come after Russel. Yes, he could defend himself but not against guns, crowbars and chains. A month later, the family packed up and moved.  
  
Moving to England was a big step, but Russel knew it was for the better. Del had been left behind, but that was for the best. He'd always carry the memories the two had shared together, and even if he was dead the two would still remain friends.  
  
Little did he know he had more then just memories of Del left.  
  
[The end… or the beginning?]_


End file.
